According to reports, the first OpenAI solution on hardware devices is a mobile clever speaker with integrated AI capabilities that can sync with ChatGPT and provide other home AI services.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the device – which is still in development – is expected to be screenless and is internally presented as a “human-like AI companion living at home.”
OpenAI has long said it wants to release a hardware product – there are rumors that it wants to release its own phone, which would put it in competition with Apple.
The newly released OpenAI device sounds like a departure from classic clever speakers — as sources described to Bloomberg a device that has a “personality” and, over time, is capable of actively learning about its owner, providing a more personalized experience. Sources say the machine would have access to the user’s digital life and download e-mails, for example.
The device is also oddly described as containing “mechanical components that can move on their own,” and the Bloomberg report details that the device is designed to “give the impression of a companion and become a physical manifestation of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.”
The device was developed with the lend a hand of many former Apple engineers who played key roles in “creating products like the iPhone and Mac,” Bloomberg writes. Indeed, OpenAI may be trying to release a recent line of hardware, but the company is currently up to its eyeballs in trouble due to hardware-related legal issues.
Last week, Apple sued OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company of stealing trade secrets. Apple further argued that the allegations in the lawsuit are merely allegations the “tip of the iceberg” and that more abuses will be uncovered during the legal disclosure process. OpenAI denies any wrongdoing.
Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of OpenAI’s plans, Bloomberg writes that the company believes its recent product is “significantly different from anything Apple currently has on the market” and is “unlikely to infringe trade secrets” belonging to Apple.
OpenAI’s development comes as the tech world becomes increasingly excited about consumer AI hardware. Hark, the artificial intelligence lab founded by Brett Adcock, in May raised an oversubscribed $700 million Series A at a $6 billion valuation to build what it calls “personal intelligence” – proprietary artificial intelligence models combined with custom hardware designed to be a “universal interface between humans and machines.”
The company has yet to detail the shape of its device, emphasizing how much capital is chasing the category even before products ship.